


Fhirdiad, 1181: A Holy Woman

by mareza



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Gen, a moment that may have happened during the coup, implied dedue and references to rodrigue, so here you go, this is because we never got to see any of the coup, written for fe3h.fm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25521916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mareza/pseuds/mareza
Summary: There have been times the shadows were too much for Fhirdiad to bear. Once upon a time, there was a terrible plague that ran through the whole country. It was at its most cruel in this city, ravaging its population and taking the life of the Queen herself. And how the country grieved for her, how desperately they cried out for salvation. They were so desperate that a foreign holy woman promising their deliverance was welcomed into their arms without question. The holy woman kept her promise, and the king heeded her advice. Fhirdiad was saved.A moment that may have happened in a coup that sent a kingdom into civil war.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 39
Collections: In Time’s Flow





	Fhirdiad, 1181: A Holy Woman

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a companion piece for the song [Fhirdiad, 1181](https://fe3hfm.bandcamp.com/track/fhirdiad-1181) for FE3H.fm's [In Time's Flow](https://fe3hfm.bandcamp.com/album/in-times-flow) fan album. It is best read while listening to the track by [chillydeer](https://twitter.com/imachillydeer) and checking out the track art by [Jennifer Crow](https://twitter.com/jennifercrowart), so please do!
> 
>  **Warnings:** Faerghus is full of racial violence, and Cornelia is a villain who enjoys the harm she does. This piece therefore features a villain's gleefulness over genocide, murder, threatened torture, and general violence, as well as demeaning language towards multiple characters, including a character of color (the language used was also used for racial insults in-game).
> 
>  **Note:** In the original posting, Cornelia's threats included more explicit descriptions of racialized violence toward a character of color. This was of course part of showing the depth of Cornelia's evil, but after more reflection, I decided that the detail used was too potentially triggering without developing much (we already know she's using racialized language and violence against Dedue, we don't need further detail on how). As such, I decided to remove it here. The piece still has references to a threatened public execution of a character of color, but much less detail has been used.

So impressive, this Fhirdiad. Its stone walls, protectors of all within, go all the way back to the King of Lions, when his people quarried the stone from the mountains at its back and made themselves a fortress against outside rule. Above its ramparts wave the bright blue banners, woven of wool from shepherds and dyed with the woad from nearby plains. What a grand place, rich in history, bold with the virtues of honor and duty. What a shining example of chivalry. 

Of course, bright things cast long shadows. Knightly Fhirdiad is no exception. Excess peasants, getting by on the scraps of their betters as they wait to be used; corrupt soldiers, eager for power at any cost; even a district filled with those who survived a most terrible tragedy—a tragedy whose architects live behind the very same walls, no less. But it wouldn’t be very chivalric to comment on that.

There have been times the shadows were too much for Fhirdiad to bear. Once upon a time, there was a terrible plague that ran through the whole country. It was at its most cruel in this city, ravaging its population and taking the life of the Queen herself. And how the country grieved for her, how desperately they cried out for salvation. They were so desperate that a foreign holy woman promising their deliverance was welcomed into their arms without question. The holy woman kept her promise, and the king heeded her advice. Fhirdiad was saved.

But you were too young to remember that.

Your uncle—my bad, your _late_ uncle—did remember something of those days, although not, I think, well enough to question how I came to power. Well, they do say wine affects the memory, don’t they? And how tragic that he died so terribly after such a wasted life! What a savage little beast you are, to have done that to your own family.

No point in claiming innocence, princeling. I have guards who will testify to what you’ve done. With all those times you spoke out publicly against your uncle—and how erratic and angry you’ve been these past few months!—well, it’s been a long time since you had anyone in this castle on your side, hasn’t it? It may be a little divisive, but the Western lords do so resent all the special preference given to your loyal followers in the East.

Do you hope for rescue? That little friend of yours you’ve toted around like a childhood toy since the Tragedy, or perhaps that noisome Duke who took so much effort to keep away. Ah—there’s the light in your eyes. How sweet. So you _do_ hope to see your loyal dogs bloody their maws on my poor, delicate throat.

Now, now. No need to get so angry. House Blaiddyd has a long history of war dogs. They say Kyphon gifted Loog a litter from his own kennels on Loog’s coronation day. But don’t worry about either of _your_ dogs coming for you. The Duke, of course, won’t get here until far too late, and as for your vassal—you hear that scratching, don’t you? Through the prison walls? How loyal he is, trying to reach out to you even in his chains.

Ooh. Sorry. I thought you would have guessed we would have rounded him up. The first thing to do in a coup, little prince, is to snap up your rival’s supporters and set them out of the way. It’s a lesson I’m afraid you’ll never get to put to use.

Now, which do you think is more fun: to kill a hound first, or to let it watch the death of its beastly master? It’s just so difficult to choose. Though, with one here and another on its way, I suppose I don’t have to! How fun it will be to watch you two children facing each other on the chopping block and still get the delight of greeting that pathetic old man with gates decorated by your head—and the head of your little friend.

Ah-ah-ah! Be a good boy, won’t you? All that raging and ranting—why, it will make it even easier to persuade your people that you murdered dear Rufus in wrath. And then where will be the fun of subduing rebels? Besides. Your little friend doesn’t need to be in one piece to die tomorrow morning. If you don’t cooperate, we can always find a spot in here where you can watch him scream.

Much better.

Poor little princeling. Don’t look so sad! This kingdom has been falling from its gallows for a very long time. This is just the final snap of its noose.

I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Prince Dimitri. Sweet dreams.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out all the other amazing songs, fics, and art at the album link, and take a look at the project's twitter [@fe3hfm](https://twitter.com/fe3hfm)!
> 
> If you want to RT this fic, you can do so [here!](https://twitter.com/marezafic/status/1287245054298423296)


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